Pic credit: Fiona Peters Photography
A good night’s sleep is not only the secret to feeling well-rested, confident and buzzing the next morning but a critical ingredient in the fight against skin ageing. We chatted to Australia’s leading Sleep Expert Olivia Arezzolo to gain a little more understanding on what happens to our skin when we sleep (or don’t get enough of it!) and on how best to improve beauty sleep.
Collagen Boost
Research shows that 70% of collagen is produced in deep sleep, which impacts skin texture, tone and firmness. The optimum release time for this is during deep (or slow wave) sleep between the hours of 10pm-2pm, so make sure you are asleep during these skin rejuvenating hours.
Youthful, glowing skin
At night, the skin goes into maximum repair mode to recover from the assaults of the sun, pollution and stress from during the day. Sleep is anti-inflammatory, a skin repairing savior, causing increased cell renewal and activity. It’s best to accelerate this process by applying nourishing skincare products like an active serum or rich overnight mask. Research shows that inadequate sleep impairs your skin’s ability to ‘bounce back’ by 30%.
Brighter, less puffy eyes
Lack of restorative sleep can leave your eyes looking puffy – when we have poor or little sleep, our body becomes stressed and produces more cortisol, which in turn changes the salt balance in your system and can lead you to retain water, hence the puffiness. Dark circles reflect poor circulation, which is in part due to lack of sleep.
What does sleep deprivation do to your face?
Your face mirrors a shortage of quality sleep – you look tired, skin is dull or lacklustre and eyes come with pesky dark circles and a lack of sparkle. Research shows that sleep deprivation increases (skin) inflammation - enhancing your likelihood of acne, enlarged pores, psoriasis and eczema; plus impeding your natural healing processes.
How can you improve beauty sleep?
Disconnect from tech. Create a relaxing environment to slow everything down – listen to a meditation podcast while burning lavender oil.
Apply a sleeping mask that you can leave on overnight. That is after you have removed all makeup and thoroughly cleansed your face.
Paint your nails for mindfulness and a touch of zen.
Deep breathe for 10 minutes – while your nails are drying.
Have a glass of water before bed to keep your skin hydrated from the inside.
Eyemask on, lights out it’s sleep time.
Shop our bedtime range
Overnight moisturizing infusion.
Dehydrated skin lacks moisture. It feels tight and wrinkles appear prematurely. Less protected by a thinner cutaneous barrier, it is more reactive and more likely to redden.
A truly nocturnal moisturizing infusion, AQUA PLUS Multi-Moisturizing Sleeping Mask helps the skin restore its water reserves and reinforce the protecting cutaneous barrier. No-rinse concentrated night mask, its silky formula, lightly film-forming, diffuses the benefits of its ingredients overnight, allowing the skin to perfectly breathe at the same time.
Restores radiant glow overnight.
Lack of sleep, stress, pollution, UV or smoking exhaust your skin metabolism. Dead cells accumulate, your complexion loses its radiance and turns greyish. Those imperfections caused by exhaustion give the impression that your skin is in poor health, that it looks, older than it really is.
SKIN VITALITY Sleeping Mask “Baby Skin” Radiance transforms the quality of your skin. This new generation formula detoxifies, unifies and smoothes the skin while providing a healthy glow complexion.
Provides bounce, comfort and elasticity to the skin.
Winner of the beautyheaven.com.au 2021 Glosscar Award - Best New Natural Skincare Product.
Dry or mature skin does not produce enough lipids. Its barrier function is impaired, leading to a moisture loss and greater vulnerability to harmful environmental factors. The skin becomes fragile, thinner and ages prematurely.
NUTRI-ELIXIR Anti-Age Nutrition Absolute Night Balm leaves a silky-soft finish which replenishes the skin with lipids and re-densifies it intensely during the night. From the first mornings, dry skin losing density regains bounce, absolute comfort and elasticity.
Active, moisturizing and revitalizing cream for eye contour.
The eye contour is the most fragile part of the face and to avoid irritations has to be protected and moisturized.
This highly moisturizing cream helps prevent the development of wrinkles around the eyes.
